I'm thinking of recovering my door cards... one of the many things that are getting a bit tatty, but at least these are easier to fix ;-)

I'm leaning towards using beige leather or alcantara (and probably re-covering tired seats in the same at some point), but i'm also thinking of keeping it original… but is it actually possible to get the original cloth? Pic attached... I believe it's called something that involves either or both of the words "linen" and "pinstripe". Doesn't look too bad in this pic, but the edges are messier.

So I just thought I'd see if anyone has been down this road...

 

Check with www.werk924.com for your upholstery.

What I did doesn't exactly line up with what you want to do but this article may give you some help.

https://newhillgarage.com/2017/03/29...d-door-panels/

If your door card material is just dirty, there are some pretty amazing cleaner products out there. Check out the high end detailer web sites.

And here is an article about doing the seats.

https://newhillgarage.com/2017/02/19...at-upholstery/

You recognize that you are standing at the edge of the proverbial "slippery slope" don't you

 

Thanks Harvey - those are both tip-top links! Especially as the google translated version of the werk924 site tells me that it is "…the portal to a better life, in and with one of the most beautiful cars of the nuclear age."

Yup, slippery slope indeed... there's an awful lot of stuff that could be much prettier, but is at least shabby only because the car's been soaking up sun and miles for 30-odd years, not because I messed about with it.

And that Porsche cloth is surprisingly expensive!

 

Wow, I didn't bother to translate it. I just assumed it said "Vee have the cloth you need and you will be happy and not worry about the price!"

They were actually very helpful when I purchased my Porsche Script cloth. I dealt with Andrea.

You know Mike at Wheeler Dealers just always seems to find the stuff he needs locally there on your little island for just a few quid. I really don't know how he does it. And they almost always make a profit, discounting Edds labor of course. No wonder Edd quit!

 

Oddly enough I've just been binge-watching the last 3-4 series of Wheeler Dealers! There does seem to a bit of tension between them - in hindsight it doesn't seem that surprising that they parted ways.

And yes, Mike does have a real knack for finding a bargain...

My own personal best value-for-money find, at least recently, was when I replaced my clutch. Resurfacing the flywheel was recommended - first time I've done a clutch, so I'm getting my knowledge from Clark's, here, and a few other corners of the internet. And I thought I might as well have to slightly lightened while I was at it. Turns out that it's hard to find a light engineering shop that can work on a 944 flywheel... spoke to a few people who would have been able to do it if they had the right adapter or fitting... long story short, I sent it off to a guy in the midlands who was *super* experienced and knowledgable, v helpful on the phone and advised on what was a sensible amount of weight to lose, and charged me less than £100. I was expecting to pay about double that.

Oh, and the guy I found in ebay who makes up brake lines super-cheap... a couple of times that I needed to replace brake lines, he made them up for a tiny fraction of the cost of the genuine Porsche item.

 

I always enjoy Wheeler Dealers when they visit some hole in the wall shop where they have been making things the same way for the last 50 years. Fascinating stuff!

Anyway, go for it on the door panels. I don't think it will be that hard. Do it this summer when you can do all your contact cement work outside. It will get you divorced if you use it inside. I also really like that spray sizing stuff that I mention in one of my articles. Not as noxious as the contact cement, can be repositioned, and holds pretty well. I would tend to use it on the front of the panel and maybe just use the contact cement on the back side where you wrap the material around. Although I think Porsche also uses short staples. I'm not sure if they will hold as well in 30 year old fibre board though so again, might want to use the glue.

 

That 30-year old fibre board is an issue... last time I removed the cards, one one side in particular the combination of time and some damp meant that a couple of the trim clips don't hold the board any more. I'm planning on using some glass fibre tissue and resin to patch things up and reinforce before I re-cover.

Also, apologies Harvey, I'm a little slow... only just realised that YOU are New Hill Garage. I've read a few of your articles along the way! Thanks for sharing all that knowledge and experience, and nice work on presenting it so well - the right number of good pics, right number of words. Nice work sir.

 

Yes, I am New Hill Garage. An army of one. New Hills premier (and only) Jaguar/Porsche establishment. Although we do have another fellow here in New Hill that restores old Corvettes.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

Wasn't there a post recently about RS style door panels made from Carbon Fiber?